I have been honoured to help create families for my clients from across Australia and 25 countries overseas.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Vegas and beyond

In two days time I fly to Las Vegas to speak at the world's first international surrogacy conference. I'll be part of a panel of lawyers from around the world about bringing baby back home. It is truly exciting to be going to and to be honoured speaking at such a conference.

The last year has been an extraordinary one for me in terms of presentations about surrogacy, which I have done in addition to my full time work. I am glad to have the support of my partners and colleagues at Harrington Family Lawyers, without whom I would not have been able to do all of this:

In March I appeared on SBS Insight "Baby Business". I was proud of that show, and not because I got the last say and a round of applause (both of which are true), but because as best as anyone can do, the show gave a variety of experiences and views about the dilemmas involved with surrogacy.

In December I am a speaker at the World Congress on Reproductive Medicine in Melbourne, which came about due to research undertaken by fellow lawyer Alexandra Harland and me about surrogacy rules in each of the States. That research was published in Family Law Review, a Thomson Reuters publication.

One down side of all these presentations (all of which have been unique) is that the workload has slowed my blogging this year to a trickle.

I will be posting about the Vegas and Melbourne conferences on the blog. What concerns me most are attempts by the Hague conference on private international law to impose a treaty about international surrogacy. I applaud proper international regulation of surrogacy. Surrogates and intended parents should not be exploited. My clients who are intended parents want to do no harm. All they want is to have a child- not to hurt anyone else, let the special woman who is prepared to bear their child.

The pain of not being able to have children is an extraordinary burden for many couples. Most of my clients considering surrogacy have considered adoption, but with the red tape involved, part of which is there due to another Hague convention, they see little point being stuck in a very long, painful, costly queue. If the Hague has managed to come up with rules that make the process worse, what confidence can intended parents in the Hague getting it right with surrogacy regulation?

"Thanks for doing such an excellent job with all our mutual client/patients." Fertility Specialist, March, 2014

"Hi Stephen! I've spent countless hours over the past week on your blog, cannot say more than what a great and wonderful resource it is! Hands down, the best site to go for Australian ART, IVF and surrogacy legal info." Law student, June, 2014

"Thank you so much to EVERYONE who has helped us up until this point & everyone that will come into our lives to help us in the future.

You know who you are and you truly are an amazing lady's. Words do not quantify the love and gratitude that we feel towards you both. (Surrogate & Egg Donor)...

Stephen Page of Harrington Family Lawyers, without you standing up for what's right, we would not be talking about this today.

With all the love in THE WORLD!"

"The most long-term and experienced surrogacy lawyer in Australia"- Surrogacy advocate, June, 2014

"Can you please pass on to Stephen how immensely heartened and relieved I felt after speaking to him? I think until after the appointment I didn't realise how much had dark and confusing for several months, and he helped me to see that with patience and flexibility we can work our way through this surrogacy thing, and most likely come away with a baby, which is what we want so deeply. I had been feeling this was really a long shot, but feel much more hopeful, in a realistic way, that we can get through this if we just take it one step at a time."

"Thank you. Dear Stephen and Associates,
A big thank you to all for the hard work, that went into, making my long time dream of being a mum, come true. A big thank you once again...."

"Often (intended parents) are so focused on the destination that they overlook and under-estimate the legal issues that are created by their less than conventional path to parenthood. Their goal is the safe arrival of a longed-for child but equally important should be the goal of ensuring that parental status is possible once birth has occurred. And in every case, that enquiry is one that should be made before the pregnancy is underway." Margaret Casey, NZ barrister

"If we don't create a legal and ethical framework, we will have babies born into courtrooms, not into families.Everything you can do to secure your family in this new world of baby-making, you should do."
Adjunct Professor Susan Crockin (USA)

About Me

I am one of Australia's leading surrogacy and divorce lawyers. I was admitted in 1987, and have been an accredited family law specialist since 1996.
I am a partner of Harrington Family Lawyers, Brisbane.
I am an international representative on the American Bar Association's Artificial Reproductive Technology Committee. I am the first international Fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Treatment Attorneys. I am one of 33 Australian practising lawyers who are Fellows of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, one of the most prestigious family law groups in the world. I am a founding member of the Australian Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.
I have written and spoken extensively about family law, domestic violence and surrogacy.
I have handled pretty well every type of family law case there is known in over 30 years, and have advised surrogacy/fertility clients from throughout Australia and at last count 24 countries overseas. I have obtained surrogacy orders in Qld, NSW, Vic and SA- the only lawyer to have done so.